"The New Heavy Metal Movement"...

[ION BRITTON]

JAW PALM, TOOTH SHOULDER etc etc

[Dodens Grav]

ANVIL BITCH, HAMMERWHORE

Wait...

[FuneralCircle]

you should make a list of what new bands suck and which are "tr00" in your opinion

Isn't that the point of the Corroseum in general? Seriously though, what does that have to do with it? I'm talking about bands that have become seemingly popular over night, when they are very generic... But then again, since when is that anything new? What is surprising is that Traditional Metal is what has become the new fad so far. This exploded as soon as Cauldron signed to Earache.

[FuneralCircle]

For one, Enforcer have been around for as long as Cauldron so the don't fit into the whole "clone" equation. I also wouldn't put them in the same category as White Wizzard and the rest of the bands you mentioned. I find them pretty damn enjoyable and not as, say, limp-wristed as some of the others.

Perhaps not, but I will say I find them as generic and as dull as the bands I listed them with. Even IN SOLITUDE don't do that much for me, and RAM are quite good despite their connection to that godawful band WATAIN... As for live, I cannot tell about ENFORCER since I haven't seen them. I can watch videos perhaps online, but that is not the same.

The long and short of it is, why shouldn't bands like Enforcer, Skull Fist etc play traditional metal festivals like Up The Hammers? They play traditional metal. Granted, not to everyone's liking, but there are plenty of people who like them and like it or not the decision lies with the organisers in the end. Sure, there are other bands I would rather see play, but I have long since stopped pointing fingers at bands I don't like and saying they aren't deserving of a place on the line-up... because who the hell am I to say that?? My opinion holds no weight when it comes to dictating who is or isn't entitled to play a gig or festival.

I never said they shouldn't, I just said I find it odd. I see it perhaps the same as The Sword playing Hammer of Doom festival for example. I would see a lot of people exploding over how The Sword are false, cliche, and generic, but will you argue that they are any more or less sincere than perhaps bands like Cauldron? I think it's a fair analogy to make. Ultimately it is up to the organizers, and I don't want to question their tastes but I think music like this is pretty damn shallow and it's making it seem like these bands are as legitimate as acts as say Atlantean Kodex, who are really infinitely more interesting and I think their sound is much more epic and risky than the "play-it-safe" and accessible sound of these "new" heavy metal bands. Ultimately, it's up to the promoters to pick a band and have them play, but they can't expect me to not criticize the band or say they suck ass since I don't think that's what metal is about. If something pisses you off, you need to shout it out!

Also, cliched song titles don't grind on me at all. Heavy metal is rampant with cliches, whether it's in song titles, lyrical content or the moves bands perform on stage. How many Doom bands can you name who sing about the occult, funerals, Satan, wizards (!!) and so on?? It's nigh on impossible to be original in Heavy metal these days. I say: GOOD! Bands ought to spend less time trying to reinvent the wheel and more time playing music that they're passionate about.

The thing about the occult, funerals, Satan, wizards, epic fantasy and all that is that it really isn't as accessible as say singing about partying, getting loaded, girls, etc. Hell, it's how I think you present those lyrics and themes though. Like Witchfinder General's "No Stayer" for example. It's much less cheesy, much more hard-hitting, and has way more TEETH! Really, that's all it comes down to for me, whether a band has teeth to me, and I really think Cauldron, Skull Fist, Holy Grail, and White Wizzard don't at all.

Which brings me back to your post. Those bands you mentioned mightn't be to your/our liking but who are we to say whether or not they're passionate about what they do? Maybe I'm getting old or something, but I'm growing tired of all the negativity in the underground scene. I'm not suggesting people start biting their lips and not speaking their mind for one second - I will always speak my mind - but there are various things in the underground scene that, for the want of a better phrase, have been getting on my tits lately.

They aren't to my liking, but when I see about 5 bands who appear out of nowhere doing essentially the same thing and they all have each other in their friends list on MySpace, the word "fad" comes to mind right away. I think being skeptical about new bands and new movements shouldn't derive from anything except how they sound, which I think is pretty lame and as Cronos said "for the chicks"

I like my heavy metal HEAVY and with power, not merely a bunch of bands who spend more time teasing their hair and trying on their girlfriend's new stage costumes for hour on ends instead of writing original sounding riffs. In other words, understanding that flash is not more important than substance!!!

These kind of threads being one of those things. We can sit infront of our computers and moan about how these signed bands are soulless and undeserving of their success and yada yada yada, OR... we can start threads about the bands we actually like, the bands we want to support and see succeed.

I'm rambling and I'm not even sure if any of that makes sense, but I have 3 more hours in work until I can have a beer and I have to waste it doing something

- Barry

Hey man, for about every 100 threads about bands we love, there has to be one where there is a discussion about where you feel Heavy Metal is going and who the most popular bands at the time are, and where they think they are taking it. White Wizzard for example loudly boast that they're saving heavy metal. YOu can't say something like that without someone calling them for their bullshit!

Anyways, that's my views on everything. Hopefully we can enter a good dialogue and all that good shit. At the end of the day, to each their own, of course.

[Marken]

I think Enforcer, Steelwing, White Wizzard and Züül has released some of the best records this year. Are some of them posers? Oh yeah. Do I care? Not at all. Other good ones are RAM and Whyte Ash, but they play a "rougher" kind of metal.
The Cauldron-fullength is crap, and I don't like for instance Helvetets Port, so there are good bands and bad ones. Just as it was in the 80's and 90's.

Revenge from Colombia are quite funny in the booklet of their latest release "Death Sentence": "Fuck the POSSERS!" Great album by the way.

[mordred]

This exploded as soon as Cauldron signed to Earache.

...which was three years after I heard the first Enforcer demo and watched them play live for the first time.

About a year and a half later I watched ENFORCER play a gig together with PORTRAIT. Neither of them had released an album, but both had 7" singles out, they both played killer shows and nobody had ever heard about Cauldron.

[The Knell]

I think the new Enforcer is pretty good. I never thought Id say that but I really enjoy that "Diamonds" album. Because I hated all of their previous stuff.

[Lama]

I'm really satisfied that a lot of people take it up for ENFORCER. I don't know if they are 'true' (whatever that means...), they may be too young to have a 5000+ collection of the rarest heavy metal, their lyrics may be a bit cliché, and they may dress up too much when being on stage, but they are responsible for a couple of the most insane heavy metal-gigs I've seen recently, and I really liked their debut album (I already bought "Diamonds", but haven't got the time to listen to it). I noticed a bit of anger towards this band recently, and not only on this board. I remember when they released the 7-inch, everyone was so full of Enforcer. Once the debut album was out, a lot of people started slaggin' them off. Maybe the oh-so important 'underground-factor' got lost?

[The Knell]

I rather think it's the demo or EP factor. A band that works okay for a short recording but doesnt have enough quality for a whole full length. But that's always been the case, dozends of bands that were at least let down when they released their first full length, also in the "glory" 80ies

[Lama]

Yeah, you're right in many cases. But Enforcer DID a great debut album (although you hate it, haha...).

[jared]

white wizzard = ok band, nice guys, but serious posers.

cauldron = first ep is great, lp is not nearly as good, goat horn was 100x better. and they are die hard headbangers.

enforcer = great band and olof is a cool guy and die hard metalhead.

in solitude = don't know much of them, but i like their music and the image is just right.


don't know too much about some of the other "questionable" bands mentioned in this thread, just offering my two cents on the ones i know.

[The Sentinel]

They bore the shit out of me, can't help. I purchased some of these bands some time ago but eventually sold all of them again. For me they sound too forced and lacking the spontanity bands used to have.

[FuneralCircle]

For me they sound too forced and lacking the spontanity bands used to have.

This is pretty much what I'm getting at. Usually if you are "passionate" about Metal I would think you attempt something that hasn't been done a million times before...

[Dodens Grav]

They're no different than all of the bands that sounded the same in the 80s who get free passes due to their 'contemporary' status.

[FuneralCircle]

They're no different than all of the bands that sounded the same in the 80s who get free passes due to their 'contemporary' status.

But that's the thing, I don't think bands from the 80s are universally good as well. I usually skip most of the typical sounding Heavy Metal acts to listen to say Satan, Cirith Ungol, or Fates Warning, who sounded much different from the rest of the stuff.

I think these new bands are embracing the typical bands that risked nothing and played it safe, and that isn't Metal to me. Even if we're playing it "old school", you still need to reinvent the wheel I think, even if just by a little bit.